Measuring and Improving the Quality of Service from the Customer's Perspective in an Emergency Room using Lean Thinking

Abstract

Lean is a philosophy and a powerful set of tools designed for process improvement by eliminating waste from processes. It also focuses on what adds value in processes from a customer's perspective. The quality of a product or service is best judged by its ability to meet or exceed customers’ needs and expectations. The Total Quality Management philosophy of doing business emphasizes lowering costs by reducing waste, helping suppliers provide quality products and satisfying the customer with quality goods and services. Quality of service needs to understand what the customer wants and change your way of doing business based on it. This project seeks to measure the perceived quality of services received by people. To evaluate and improve the services in the Healthcare Systems in Puerto Rico and propose the use of lean philosophy and creating measurable quality standards so that they can implement TQM and continuous improvement. Key Terms - Health Care, Lean Thinking, Quality of Service, Total Quality Management.